Chapter 39: The one who is closest to the water gets the moon first
The next day when Gui'er went out again, Shunfu followed her quietly behind her, but she didn't know that someone was also following him quietly. While the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it, his sneaky actions were all seen by Qing'er.
Qing'er thought that the young lady's guess was indeed correct.
After Shunfu quietly followed Gui'er out, Qing'er also quietly went out and went to Yipintang to get the medicinal food back.
Shunfu followed Guier to the street and wandered around for the whole morning. Guier first went to the rouge shop to buy something, then went to the teahouse to buy snacks, went shopping at the flower market, and then returned home.
After Shunfu reported Guier's whereabouts to Jiang Rui, Jiang Rui scolded him harshly, saying that he was too smart for his own good. He swore yesterday that there was something strange in the food box, but he had followed it for the whole morning and got nothing. What an idiot!
When Jiang Rui got tired of scolding him and told him to get lost, Shunfu immediately slipped away.
In the afternoon, the housekeeper brought people to the ferry to wait.
Zhang was busy preparing to receive her brother's family at home, and Jiang Cheng also went to Tingyuxuan to see if anything was needed.
Tingyuxuan has a quiet environment and has more than ten rooms. It has been cleaned spotlessly and looks brand new.
Six carriages went towards the Shangshu Mansion, and the three carriages at the back were loaded with a large amount of luggage.
Carriages passed by the teahouse one after another. The people sitting on the second floor jokingly said, "Are they bringing all their wealth here?"
Qi Wuhan leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs, and slowly waved the bone fan in his hand, looking like a wealthy and idle man.
"The Zhang family has two young masters. The eldest one got married two years ago, and the younger one is in his early twenties and is still unmarried." Ling Feng, who was standing next to him, reported.
"How does that young master Zhang compare to me?" Qi Wuhan asked.
"A few years younger than the Marquis." Ling Feng replied with the truth.
Qi Wuhan raised his eyebrows slightly, and an amiable smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.
Ling Feng added, "Of course I can't compare to the Marquis."
"If even you can see it, then no one can't see it." Qi Wuhan said with great relief.
“.….”
It seems that it is not unreasonable for people to say that my master has a sharp tongue, Ling Feng thought silently in his heart.
......
Seeing the carriage coming towards the gate, Guier hurried back to report to Jiang Lan.
Then Zhang sent a maid over and brought Jiang Lan to the hall to meet the elders.
When Jiang Lan came over, Jiang Rui was already there.
She secretly observed the people in the hall and found four people sitting on the right side.
The middle-aged man sitting below Jiang Cheng looked a few years older than him, had a beard, and was slightly fat. He was Jiang Lan's nominal uncle, Master Zhang.
The woman next to him was Mrs. Du. There was no smile on her face. She looked dignified and majestic, as if she could not tolerate any sand in her eyes. When Jiang Lan saluted, she looked at her from head to toe with a picky and critical look, and curled the corners of her mouth, as if she was very dissatisfied.
Sitting next to Mrs. Du were her eldest son Zhang Kui and eldest daughter-in-law Zhu. The latter had her head lowered, looking submissive, respectful and a little cautious.
There was a young man standing behind Mrs. Du, his youngest son Zhang Hua. He looked to be in his early twenties, with his head slightly lowered. When Jiang Lan walked in, he quietly looked up at her face with a look of surprise in his eyes, then quickly lowered his head for fear of being discovered. When Jiang Lan saluted, he couldn't help but steal a glance at her.
Zhang saw all the little movements and sneered in her heart at him for being so short-sighted and being bewitched as soon as he showed up. He was a loser.
Master Zhang did not live in the mansion, saying that the house needed repairs and someone needed to look after it. Jiang Cheng did not force him to stay, but asked the housekeeper to go with him to see if there was any way he could help.
Mrs. Du took her eldest son and his wife and her youngest son to live in Tingyuxuan, and would move there after the house was cleaned up.
Later, Zhang came to find her elder sister-in-law Du, hoping to arrange a marriage between Jiang Lan and Zhang Hua.
However, Mrs. Du looked down on Jiang Lan, and the reason she gave was that she was too pretty and looked restless at first glance.
Zhang then talked about the advantages of this marriage. With Jiang Cheng as his father-in-law, Zhang Hua's future would definitely be good.
Mrs. Du still refused to give in because she looked down on Jiang Lan.
Zhang also said that Jiang Lan had been honest and easy to control since she was a child, and she would never dare to disobey her parents-in-law after she got married. When the time came, Jiang Lan would never dare to say anything against what her mother-in-law Du said.
"Your third daughter is already married, but her elder sister hasn't even found a husband yet?" Mrs. Du sneered, "Don't tell me she did something shameful and lost her virginity before getting married."
Zhang's heart skipped a beat when she heard this. She had originally thought that after Jiang Lan and Zhang Hua had finalized the marriage, it would not matter much even if Du knew about Jiang Lan's disruption of the wedding. Instead, it would make Du even more dissatisfied with Jiang Lan, and Jiang Lan's situation after marriage would only become more difficult.
But if Mrs. Du knew about this now, she would definitely be even more unwilling to confess. However, it was impossible to conceal this matter. It caused a lot of uproar at the time, and anyone could find out by asking.
"Sister-in-law, have you heard anything?" Zhang asked tentatively. Du snorted coldly, "How did your third daughter's marriage come about? As a mother, don't you know more about it than I do?"
Zhang quickly explained, "Those are all rumors, nothing more than figments of the imagination. How can you take them seriously? Yao'er was married to us in a formal ceremony. Those people outside are jealous of our marriage to the Duke's Mansion, so they made up those damn lies. Sister-in-law, please don't take them seriously."
"Then why did I hear that the Duke's Mansion originally intended to marry your second daughter?" Mrs. Du sneered.
Zhang quickly explained, "Sister-in-law, you've misunderstood. The Duke's Mansion originally intended Yao'er to be the one. Those rumors out there are not to be taken seriously. I won't hide it from you, sister-in-law. Lan'er has been weak since she was a child and has always been in poor health, so I never told anyone about her. Now that she's feeling better, the master and I are arranging a marriage for her. The master just told me that Hua'er is a very good child and has great potential. With the master's support, she will definitely be able to make a name for herself and bring honor to the family."
After hearing these words, Mrs. Du's expression relaxed a little. She said, "I don't have high requirements for my daughter-in-law. As long as her family background is clean and she is honest and decent, that's enough." She slowed down her tone and said, "I'll take a look."
When Zhang was leaving, she had just reached the gate of the yard when Zhang Hua hurried over from behind to bow and greet her aunt. He looked shy, as if he was too embarrassed to speak. Zhang saw through his thoughts at a glance, and thought he must be asking about Jiang Lan.
Her sister-in-law was still unwilling to give in easily, so she could only put more effort into this nephew.
"Your cousin Lan'er is a girl after all, so you should take the initiative. You two live together now, so it will be convenient for you to meet and talk in the future." Zhang hinted that the one who is close to the water gets the moon first.
"Aunt is right." Zhang Hua bowed again with a happy look on his face.
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